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This is part of our Thursday series on the encounters with the Risen Savior that are shared in the four gospels. Today’s encounter is shared with us by John. At this point, Jesus had already appeared to all of the disciples, and in chapter 21 John goes on to tell about a day when seven of the disciples had decided to go fishing. They had been unsuccessfully fishing all night, and at daybreak heard someone on the shore tell them to cast their nets on the right-hand side of the boat. And just like it happened when they first met Jesus, their nets were overwhelmingly full of fish. At this point John realized that the man on the shore must be Jesus. Peter, as impulsive as always jumped off the boat and swam to the shore while the others stayed in the boat and drug the net full of fish to shore. In verse 9, John describes the scene they found on shore like this: So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus invited them to have breakfast and in verse 13 John describes part of that breakfast meal: Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. There had to have been so many memories flooding through these men during this encounter. The memory of their early meeting with Jesus and the huge catch of fish had to come back to them all. The fish and bread may have brought up reminders of the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus breaking the bread and giving it to them likely flooded them with memories from the Passover meal they had celebrated a short time before and everything that had happened since. For Peter, there may have been something else that brought up a not so great memory. In the cool of that morning, the fish were being cooked over a charcoal fire, and while we don’t know that it’s the case, that fire and all the other memories that were flooding back may have brought up another fire that he stood at a short time before. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself … Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are you?’ He denied it, and said, “I am not.’ One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with Him?’ Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. John 18:17-18, 25-27
While we don’t know if these memories had come back to mind over the fire that morning, but it was likely that Peter was still struggling with what he had done. He had been so confident that he would never betray Jesus, but he did three times just like Jesus said. But after breakfast, Jesus had an incredible conversation with Peter there on the shore. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. All three times Peter said that he did and Jesus asked him to tend and shepherd His sheep. After this beautiful moment of healing and restoration, Jesus went on to predict the kind of death Peter would be faced with and once again spoke the words that He had in the very beginning, “Follow Me!” Memories can be powerful things and our senses are often great at bringing memories back to us. Sometimes those memories are wonderful, sometimes they are challenging, and at times they are painful. Some memories pop up and help us see and appreciate things in a new light. Some memories challenge us to reclaim a passion or live up to something that was spoken into us. But some memories, especially painful memories, can so easily suck us into patterns and lies that prevent us from being who God wants us to be and doing what He has called us to do. When we find ourselves getting drug down by painful parts of our past or present, we need to bring that pain to Jesus and let Him heal and restore us. If you are struggling with memories that are holding you back from the abundant life that God has for you, and you just don’t know how to bring it to Jesus, I would encourage you to find a trusted friend, advisor, or counselor to help you walk through that process so that you can live the abundant life that God has for you.
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Genesis 32 contains one of the most unique encounters with God that we see in all of Scripture. To be fair, most encounters with God in Scripture are each unique in their own ways, but this interaction between God and Jacob is definitely an original. Jacob, his family, and his livestock had just fled his uncle Laban’s household, and he was about to see his brother Esau for the first time in a couple of decades. This is the same Esau whose blessing Jacob stole by deceiving their father, Isaac. Esau had threatened to kill Jacob because of this, and now Jacob was about to come face to face with him, and he was fearful. Maybe you can relate to some of these family dynamics, or maybe it makes you appreciate that even though your family has it’s own share of dysfunction you’re not quite this bad. Either way, we can all relate to tough relationships, difficult dynamics, and past regrets. We’ve all experienced having to face awkward and even fearful meetings with people. Jacob prayed. He confessed His unworthiness, recognized God’s faithfulness, and asked for God’s help. Then while spending the night on his own after sending the others ahead, Jacob had this unusual encounter: Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.’ Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Genesis 32:24-31 There is so much that we see happening in these verses, but it struck me that Jacob walked away blessed, but scarred. He wrestled with God and was blessed by God, but walked away with a limp. So often it seems like the scars and the blessings really do come together. It can be out of some of the most difficult, challenging things in our life that we also end up receiving the greatest blessings. In those difficult, scarring situations that we face in life, it seems like we always have a choice. We can allow the situation to stop us and make us give up, or like Jacob we can keeping going to seek God’s blessing. If we stop we’re just left with the pain, but if we persist in seeking God’s blessing in the pain then like Jacob we might be able to walk away with not just the scars, but also the blessing. Now, this doesn’t mean that we always have to stay in the situation that is causing the pain, as we seek God’s blessing we also need to seek His wise guidance. There may be times he asks us to stay in something, but at other times that is clearly not what He wants for us. Even if we leave a scarring situation though, we are still carrying the scars with us as we go. The question becomes, will we carry painful, tender scars that still hurt when bumped, or will we carry healed scars that remind us not just of the pain but of God’s blessing? Wrestling through the pain and seeking God’s blessing in the midst of it is not easy. We all want the blessing without the limps and scars that remain behind, but the growth and new understanding of who we are that comes from wrestling through these things with God are priceless. So if you are in the midst of a challenging situation or season, be persistent in wrestling through it with God. In obedience, seek His blessing and the growth comes from it, letting the scars remind you of His faithfulness. |
AuthorTracy Newcomb Archives
August 2026
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